


light up the dark

by lucernis



Series: ephemeral [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Purple Prose, Thief Deceit | Janus Sanders, kind of? mostly. that's as close as i can get anyway fkdsjlsk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:22:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27158566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucernis/pseuds/lucernis
Summary: logan wants, more than anything, to be free.janus wants, more than anything, to keep around this mysterious man who’ssurelycome from the stars.
Relationships: Deceit | Janus Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders
Series: ephemeral [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982431
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	1. see the stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coconutcluster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coconutcluster/gifts).



> inspired by [coconut-cluster](https://coconut-cluster.tumblr.com/)'s tags on [this post](https://coconut-cluster.tumblr.com/post/632455786802593792/im-in-a-huge-logan-mood-tonight-so-may-i-suggest) but then i decided to run with it so there's gonna be More <3
> 
> warnings to be added on a chapter by chapter basis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> logan’s never left this tower, and the sky above it has always been dark.

logan stands there on his balcony, too far above the rest of the city to feel like he belongs to it. if he ignores everything he knows, he can almost believe the scene laid out before him is beautiful, all lit up with those tiny pinpricks of light from windows and street lamps and the headlights of cars. and if he squints, the world below him could almost be a sky full of stars.

but it isn’t. the city isn’t the night sky, and the lights that illuminate it aren’t stars.

he looks up, and the stars aren’t there either.

logan’s never seen the stars. not once in his life, he realizes. he’s been holed up in this tower, in this city since the day he was _born,_ and he’s _never seen the stars._

just like that, the world comes crashing down around him. 

to logan, it’s as true as fact that stars are the most beautiful things you can see on earth, and yet, wealthy as his family is, the only glimpse logan has gotten of them has been through pictures.

it is then and there that logan decides, one way or another, he is _going_ to see the stars one day. he refuses to let his parents dictate his life for one moment longer, not when _he_ knows what he wants.

he doesn’t _want_ to follow in their footsteps. he doesn’t _want_ to take over the biggest company in the city, the country, the _world_ when they decide it’s his turn to rule with a fist of gold. he doesn’t want the life they’ve given him, safe and comfortable though it may be. 

no, logan doesn’t want any of that. he wants, more than anything, to be free.

and when he’s free, the first thing he’s going to do is find a dark, empty field, far away from any civilization. he’ll look up, and that’s where they’ll be.

logan closes his eyes, and he’s there, standing in that field instead of at the edge of his balcony. he’s there, and for the very first time in his life, he can see the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr post](https://ratherstarryeyed.tumblr.com/post/632458355627212800/see-the-stars-empty-sky-a-night-so-bright)


	2. empty sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> logan maybe be free from the tower, but the sky above him is still a void of nothingness.

logan had been wandering the streets of the city for two days then, he believes—time is odd when there’re no displays to indicate day and night, when the sun and moon are blocked out by buildings taller than anyone down here could possibly fathom, when there’s nothing but endless darkness—but he’s always been good at watching people and finding patterns, so based on the movement of the city, two days does seem right. 

logan has been down here for only two days, but already, he’s noticed that ‘night’ only truly lasts for a few hours. there’s a lull in activity, and the people he passes are more… interesting. they wear long coats that hide their form and keep their face shadowed beneath a hood or behind a mask. they walk like they _belong_ there. logan tries to mimic them, to hold his head high and take longer strides and always, always keep his face out of sight in any way he can. he doesn’t want to risk being recognized, and he doesn’t think these people do either.

night in the city feels safer than day. there’s a different energy to the world once the sun rises—even though there’s no more light than usual, it’s still too exposed, too loud. logan doesn’t like it one bit, so he ducks into alleyways during the day. it’s concealed, secluded, and somehow, logan feels better hidden away in these dingy streets than he ever did within the pristine walls of the tower. 

that doesn’t stop him from being on high alert at every moment, though. no matter day or night, he hasn’t slept—not yet at least. for the first time in his life, he’s grateful for the chip his parents implanted in his brain, grateful that it’s paused the production of melotonin and forced him awake these past two days. terrible as his sleep schedule usually is, he’s never gone longer than two days without sleep and he knows he’d have passed out by now if it weren’t for that chip.

even the artificial alertness very nearly didn’t stop him from being pickpocketed, though. the thief had been completely silent as far as logan could tell, completely hidden in the shadows and perfectly stealthy, their touches barely there. 

but logan still notices them. he turns around, and it must be fate, him seeing that thief there at the exact moment they’re pulling something out of his pocket.

it’s either fate or pure luck, and logan can’t decide which he believes in more.

“what are you doing?” he asks, though of course he knows the answer. he tilts his head curiously, watching as the person in front of him remains frozen in shock.

“nothing,” replies a voice so gruff it has to be faked. whoever this is, they don’t want logan recognizing them ever again.

taking a breath, logan makes a terrible decision. he _knows_ it’s a terrible decision too, and yet he still says, “my name’s logan—”

“oh, darling, you _really_ shouldn’t—”

“—and i _know_ you were about to rob me. there’s nothing stopping me from turning you in, so tell me: who are you?”

they squint at him, and logan remains perfectly still under their scrutiny. “there isn’t a single person who hides in a dark alley who’s going to be comfortable with turning someone else in. you wouldn’t risk it.”

“i don’t have anything _to_ risk.”

“and _i_ don’t believe that for a _second._ ”

logan smiles coldly, an image of his father’s face coming unbidden to his mind as he does so. he shakes off the discomfort he feels at the comparison. “then don’t. i can’t _make_ you believe me, after all.”

“you’re different,” they say after a short pause. “you told me your name, but it’s not _fake._ you hide in places like this, yet you threatened to turn me in. i can’t figure you out, you’re…” they shake their head. “what are you hiding?”

“i’m not hiding anything. you said it yourself—i’m just different. now,” logan continues after a short pause, “are you going to tell me your name?”

they cock their head at him, just as logan had done moments ago. “no,” they decide finally. “i don’t think i will.” they let the words hover in the air for a moment, and then in split second, they’ve dropped whatever it is that they’d pulled out of logan’s pocket and have turned on their heel, vaulting over several boxes of god knows what that crowd the alley. as they reach a dead end, they leap up and grip the bottom rung of a metal ladder a ways off the ground and pull themself up it, climbing onto the roof and vanishing over the edge of it.

logan simply watches them go, knowing there’s no use giving chase when he’s so clueless about the layout of the city. he’d have lost them in less than a minute, he’s sure of it. instead, he crouches down and picks up the object the thief had been attempting to steal off the ground.

his heart stops. 

he’d taken very few things with him when he’d left the tower—money, mostly, plus a small amount of food to last him through the first day or so as he got acquainted with the city—but there was one thing he must have forgotten to take out of his jacket. 

his father’s pocket watch. shiny, golden, and engraved clearly with swirling letters, there would have been no doubt that this thief would have known who he really was had they actually succeeded in pickpocketing him.

_tian koh’s son._

with a sigh, logan realized they’d been right about one thing, at least. he _really_ didn’t want to have go to any authorities, not when they would recognize him in the blink of an eye. no, that wouldn’t do at all.

he was _not_ going to be recognized, and he was _not_ going back to that tower. he refused to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr post](https://ratherstarryeyed.tumblr.com/post/632998145972944896/see-the-stars-empty-sky-a-night-so-bright)


	3. spark of gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> street lamps illuminate the most beautiful of things, don’t they?

the day logan leaves the city is also the day he happens to see janus again.

it had been four days since he’d arrived in the city at that point, and logan had long since rid himself of that damning pocket watch. undoubtedly, some lucky person had stumbled upon the box he’d dropped it in by now, dug out the watch, and made a pretty penny by selling it off to some pawnshop or black market. he pities them, in all honesty. there’s no way they would have gotten as much money for it as it’s worth.

with the last tie to his previous life gone and a week of observing the entirety of the city under his belt though, logan is sure he looks as unassuming as possible. there is _no way_ he’ll be targeted by someone like that thief again. he’s safe now, and all he has to do is find a way to get out. 

he’d wanted to see the stars, after all, and it’s impossible to do so when every bit of the sky is blocked out by towers as tall as the one he’d lived in. 

logan has a plan to get out though, a plan to stow away at the back of an old fashioned train, and then he’ll be out and he’ll be _free._ he truly can’t wait until the it arrives back at the station tonight.

so he waits in the gloom of the alleyways again, this time careful to keep an eye on the narrow path behind him. he’s not going to be snuck up on again.

and he isn’t—not _really,_ at least. the thief appears behind him again, silent as a shadow, but this time logan spots them long before they can make their approach.

“you’re not going to fool me twice.”

“i didn’t expect to. you’re very clever, after all.”

“then why are you here?”

the thief doesn’t speak for a moment. “did you know that these days, it’s more common than you’d think for a criminal to return to the scene of the crime?”

logan feels cold fear spread through his chest as he follows this discussion to its logical conclusion—they found the watch. _they know who he is._ “and why is that?” he asks hesitantly, keeping it face neutral by some miracle.

“by returning to the scene of the crime, they’ll catch anything they may have left behind, any incriminating evidence that’s easy enough to make disappear, the like. and even if someone spots them, it’s always shockingly easy to make them believe that only a _moron_ would return and risk capture when really, they’re a genius for having done so.”

“what’s your point?”

again, the thief ignores his question. “logan, was it?”

“yes.”

“and you didn’t give me a last name now, did you? you weren’t _that_ foolish.”

logan decides not to answer.

“of course you weren’t,” they continue. “could that be because you were taunting me?”

“whatever do you mean?”

“don’t play dumb with me. not just anyone is able to stop _me_ from pickpocketing them. not just anyone is going to be in possession of something as valuable as _this._ ” with that, they pull logan’s pocket watch from a jacket pocket and hold it in front of them, letting it swing back and forth on its chain. “not just anyone is in going to be in possession of _tien koh’s pocketwatch._

“so, logan, who are you? if you’re this skilled of a thief, why have i never even heard of you?”

logan nearly laughs out of relief, but he manages to stop himself just in time. this thief thinks he _stole_ that pocket watch, not that he is— _was_ —the _owner_ of it. it’s almost too perfect, but logan can’t bring himself to lie to them. “i’m not a thief,” he says instead. 

“oh? then what sort of pretentious name do you have for your occupation, my dear, sweet logan?”

“ _no,_ ” he sighs, “i didn’t steal it at all. i _found_ it, just the same as you did. i was going to sell it, but once _you_ tried to steal it and it had dropped on the ground, i saw the name engraved on it and figured it would have been more trouble explaining how i’d acquired it than it was worth. i left it there for someone else to find and sell, someone who’d be genuinely clueless about the true value of it. i’m no actor; i wouldn’t have been able to fake knowing what it was for the life of me. the real question,” logan adds upon realizing that he easily turn the tables on this thief, “is why _you_ didn’t sell it. you seem like the type to be good at playing dumb.”

they blink at logan for a moment, apparently trying to decipher what he meant by that. shaking their head, they avoid mentioning the second part of his statement. “to be quite honest, i kept it around for dramatic effect. a little bit for proof as well i suppose, but i don’t think that would have landed as well if i hadn’t pulled it out of my pocket at the moment i did.”

logan tilts his head to the side, watching at them suspiciously. “really.”

under his scrutiny, the thief blushes ever so slightly. “yes, really. what’s the point of life if it isn’t lived dramatically?”

logan can think of several thousand answers to that, but he chooses not to give them. “if you insist,” he says with a baffled shake of his head. they lapse into a brief silence before logan speaks again. “was that all you wanted to ask me about?”

“why, do you not like talking to me?” they pout, lifting themself up backward onto a stack of boxes near the wall of the alleyway where they let their feet swing carelessly through the air. “am i not interesting enough?” they ask, pout growing in intensity with every second that passes. “not pretty enough?” they try again. 

“you wound me,” they conclude, letting their pout fall after a short silence during which logan finds himself staring at the way a single strand of hair has escaped from beneath their beanie. he’d never noticed the color of the thief’s hair before, never noticed the lovely golden hue that looks like pure sunlight when they shift into the light of a street lamp. it is… aesthetically pleasing.

he looks away.

“earth to logan,” the thief says, an eyebrow raised at him and the barest hint of a smirk on their face. “you still with me?”

“ah, yes. my apologies.” he clears his throat, collecting himself mentally as he straightens his jacket. 

“so? _do_ you not like talking to me?”

“it’s not the worst thing i’ve ever done.”

“is that all i’m getting?”

“i’m afraid so.”

“hm,” they hum, sliding off the stack of boxes and landing softly on the ground again. “you’re interesting, logan. i look forward to seeing you again.”

they turn to walk away, and logan has half a mind to call them back and tell them that no, they won’t see him again, he’s leaving the city, and wouldn’t it be nice to say goodbye?

he isn’t sure what he expects to come of that though, so he ignores the thought and lets the thief walk away. 

besides, if they _really_ want to see him again, logan has no doubt that they have their ways. they’ll see each other again, whether logan wants it to happen or not. 

(and maybe—just _maybe_ —he thinks he does.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr post](https://ratherstarryeyed.tumblr.com/post/634008650173775872/see-the-stars-empty-sky-spark-of-gold-a) (reblogs are appreciated <3)

**Author's Note:**

> tell me my writing's pretty <3
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/ratherstareyed) || [tumblr](ratherstarryeyed.tumblr.com)


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